Track-laying machine.



H0 MODEL.

PATENTED APR. 7, 1903.. M. B. HOLMAN & W. L. GOWLEVS.

TRACK LAYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED mm 16; 1902.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Ive-724,577. PAIENTED APR,7,1903. M. B. HOLMAN & W. L. (mm-15% TRACKLAYING MAGHINEL APPLICATION FILED JUNE} 16, 1902 NO-MODEL. 8SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lailnessesz 1 V v No. 724,577.] i (PATENTED APR. 7, 1963.

M. B. HOLMAN & W. L. OOWLES.

TRACK LAYING MACHINE.

APPL-IOATION FILED JUNE 16, 1902. no MODEL. 3 sums smm a I K a? 8[Uilnesssz M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARTHA B. HOLMAN AND WALTER L. COWLES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS; SAID COWLESASSIGNOR TOD. F. HOLMAN RAILWAY TRACK-LAYER COMPANY, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

TRACK-LAYING 'IMACHIN E.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 724,577, dated April7, 1903.

Application filedJune 16, 1902. Serial No. 111,871. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern tween the car-axle and the Windlass on a Beit known that we, MARTHA'B. HQLMAN smaller scale; and Fig. 11 is a sideor face and WALTERL.COWLES,citiZenS of theUnited view of the clutchmechanism and Windlass- States, residing at Chic'ago,in the county ofdrum looking from the right in Fig. 8.

5. Cook and State of Illinois, have invented cer- By advancing the railswith power instead 55 tain new and useful Improvements in Trackof byhand we are enabled to carry the ties Laying Machines, of which thefollowing is a on the forward cars and the rails on the rear full,clear, and exact specification. cars of the'train, thus "making it morecon- Our invention refers to devices for laying venient and lesslaborious for the men adthe track members, such as rails andcrossvancing the ties, which isbest accomplished 6o ties ofrailway-tracks of that class in which by hand, as heretofore, while thelabor of adthe ties and rails are carried on cars and advancing therails involves merely the task of vanced to the front of the train asfast as placing them properly upon the rail-trams at needed along tramsranged along the sides of the rear of the train, whence they are carriedI such cars; and one of the important objects forward automatically bythe motion of the 65 of our invention is to advance the track memtrainitself. This arrangement of the cars is bers to be used along said tramsby power illustrated in Fig. 1, in whichl is the rail-car, derived fromthe motion of the car or train. and 2 the tie-car, one of each onlybeing illus- With these ends in view our invention contrated, and infront of these cars is arranged 2o sists in certain features of noveltyin the cona car 3, which carries the tools, Windlass, and 7c struction,combination, and arrangement of otherimplements, and which car ispreferably parts by which the said objects and certain utilized foroperating as well as carrying the other objects hereinafter appearingare at- Windlass. tained, all as fully described with reference On oneside of the train is arranged a seto the accompanying drawings, and moreparries of connected trams 4, which may be of 75 ticularly pointed outin the claims. the usual or of any suitable construction, for

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a perspecconducting the ties to theforward end of the tive view of a train of cars equipped with our train,while on the opposite side we support improved track-laying device. Fig.2 isa dein any suitable manner a number of railtail side elevation ofone of the rail-trams with trams for conducting the rails 5 to the for-80 a rail thereon. Fig. 3 is aplan view thereof. ward end of the train,where they are taken Fig. 4. is an enlarged end View thereof, showoff byhand and laid in place across the ties ing the means for supporting thesame on the in the usual way. This rail-tram preferably side of the car.Fig. 5 is a detail View of the consists of two side members 6, which aresupcontiguous ends of four rails, showing the ported on brackets 7,having shanks 8, se- 85 means for attaching the rails to the advanccuredin sockets 9 on the sides of the cars, ing rope or cable. Fig. 6 is aperspective the side members (3 being provided with jourview thereof,showing the rail tongs atnalbearings 10, in which are mounted axlestached to the forward instead of the rear ends or journals 11, eachcarrying two antifricof the rails. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of thetion-rollers 12 13, constituting the parts of 0 device as shown in Fig.5. Fig. 8 is an enthe rail-trams and serving to support and larged endView of one of the cars which carguide the rails while they are beingadvanced, ries the Windlass, partly in vertical section, the rollers 1213 being preferably independshowing the means of attaching the Windlassent of each other and having end flanges 14L to the axle of the car.Fig. 9 is a vertical for holding the rails against lateral move- 5sectional view of the windlassand clutch ment, so that two rails may beadvanced'simechanism, taken on the line 9 9, Fig. 11, multaneously, ifdesired, and either of them showing the parts on an enlarged scale. Fig.taken from the final section of the tram inde- 10 is a diagrammatic Viewin section on the pendently of the other one. line 10 10, Fig. 8,illustrating the relation be- The rails are placed side by side on themo rail-tram or section of rail-tram supported on the rail car or cars 1by hand, after which a suitable hook or pair of tongs is attached eitherto the rear ends, as shown in Fig. 5, or to the forward ends, as shownin Fig. 6, by passing the ends of the hooks through the bolt-holes 16,intended for the bolts which secure the fish-plates 17. The tongs, withthe rails attached, are then drawn forward by a suitable rope or cable18, which is wound upon the drum 19 of any suitable Windlass, whoseshaft 20 is journaled in bearings 21 on a bracket 22, supported on thetool-car 3. The inner end of the shaft 20 is provided with any suitableoperative connection with one of the axles of the car which carries thewindlass, such connection, whatever it be, being of such a characterthat the rail will be advanced the proper distance by that motion of thecar which takes place between the time that one rail is laid and securedin place and the train is moved forward the proper distance for layinganother, this distance usually being approximately the length of therail. The operative connection employed for this purpose preferablyconsists of a sprocketwheel 23 on the shaft 20 and another sprocket 24on axle 25, connecting the sprocket 23 by a chain 26, the two sprocketsbeing so proportioned with relation to the size of the drum 19 as togive the rail the aforesaid desired extent of movement when the train isadvanced.

\Vhen the forward rail or forward pair of rails has advancedsufficiently to make room for another rail or pair of rails on the firstsection of the rail-tram-i. e., the one carried by the rail-car nearestthe locomotive-another rail or pair of rails is placed upon said tramand secured to the forward rail or pair of rails, preferably by thefish-plates 17, which may be permanently attached .to one of the railsor to one pair of the rails, preferably the rear pair or rail, by thebolts 27, which are to be employed for securing the rails in place whenon the ties, and the forward ends of the fish-plates may be temporarilyattached to the two forward rails by bolts 27. \Vhen the rails are thustemporarily attached together, considerable space is left between theircontiguous ends, as shown in Fig. 5, so as to afford the degree offlexibility necessary for rounding curves and leaving one or more of thebolt-holes free for the insertion of the hooked ends of the tongs 15.When the forward rails are taken from the tram by the workmen, the hooksor tongs 15 are detached and carried back and secured to a pair of railsin the rear, preferably to the rear ends of the next pair, in the mannershown in Fig. 5, so that they may be advanced until they project pastthe Windlass.

In order that the drum 10 of the Windlass may be rotated backwardly forthus permitting the rope or cable to be carried to the rear, it isprovided with clutch connection or any other detachable connection withits shaft 20. As an example of such a device we show the drum 19 mountedloosely upon shaft 20 between two collars 28 and provided on one sidewith a series of teeth 29, which constitute the driven member of theclutch, and arranged to engage with this driven member is a drivingclutch member 30, having corresponding teeth and secured to the shaft 20by a spline 31, (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 9,) so as to be compelledto revolve with shaft 20 while capable of sliding longitudinally thereonin the usual manner. This driving clutch member 30 is given thislongitudinal movement at the will of the workmen by means of a lever 32,pivoted at 33 to the end of shaft 20 and connected by wrist-pin 34 andlink 35 to the driving member 30, so that when the lever 32 is thrown inone direction the driving member 30 of the clutch will be released fromthe driven member, permitting the drum 19 to run free. The drivingmember maybe held in this released or disengaged position by a hook orcatch 36, secured thereto and adapted to engage with a pin 37 on lever32, and in order that the lever may not accidentally drop down anddisengage the clutch members a second catch 38 is provided on theopposite side for engagement with a pin 39 on the lever.

The twin rollers 12 13 have plain surfaces without flanges at theirinner ends, and said inner ends are arranged contiguous to each otherwith the space between the rollers in the line of their peripheriesunobstructed, as better shown in Fig. 4, so that when the hooks 15 areattached to a pair of the rails the tendency of the hooks to draw therails together will not cause undue friction and wear, as would be thecase if flanges were employed between the rollers or if the inner endsof the rollers were supported in a separate support projecting above theline of their peripheries.

It is quite obvious that while it is desirable the rollers of the lastor forward tram be double, the others, if desired, may be single,because on them the rails move in unison.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new therein anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a track-laying machine, the combination with a car and a tramsupported thereon, of a Windlass carried by said car and comprising adrum, means detachably connecting said drum with the car-axle, wherebythe drum may revolve independently of said axle, and means in connectionwith said drum for advancing objects along said tram, substantially asset forth.

2. In a track-laying machine, the combination with a car of a tramsupported thereon, and comprising twin rollers arranged in axialalinement with each other, and revoluble independently, for supporting aplurality of rails simultaneously, the inner ends of said rollers beingplain without flanges, and arranged contiguous to each other, and thespace between them in the line of their peconnecting saiddrum with thesaid means, 10 ripheries being unobstructed, substantially substantiallyas set forth. as set forth. I Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 9th dayof 3. In a track-laying machine, the oombina- I June, A. D. 1902. tionwith a car and a tram carried thereby, of- MARTHA B. HOLMAN.

a Windlass mounted on said car, means op- WALTER L. COWLES. ei'ativelyconnecting said Windlass with one In presence of ofthe car-wheels, saidWindlass comprising a F. A. HOPKINS,

drum and a clutch mechanism for detachably M. ALLSTADT.

